Does writing help you? Why or why not?

[Gwenevere]

A couple of friends have suggested I write about the people I make up.  I'm wondering if any of you have tried to translate daydreams into written fiction and how you experienced the process.  Thank you.  

[cltreader]

I tried this technique once several years ago, but did not have success at the time. I got a little ways into the storyline, but kept stopping to "perfect" it before the whole first draft was finished.  I got a bit disgruntled at the time. (I find myself "perfecting" my daydreams in the same way.)  I found that I can create some strong characters and backstory, but I had trouble moving the plot line along to a conclusion. I think I was passively-aggressively resisting releasing my made-up world from my mind.

I am going through a rough patch right now due to a spate of bad news recently.  It's triggered off a new, rather intense round of DD. I might try the writing thing again...just to see if I get any further.

Best of luck!

[The1andonlyAbber]

I'm actually working on it right now. I'm trying to write a science fiction novel based on my daydreams. So far it hasn't affected my daydreaming at all, positively or negatively. But even thought he daydreaming itself hasn't been affected, I do feel better. It's kind of hard to describe, but sometimes it feels like my stories create pressure in my head and bringing pieces of them into the real world through art and writing relieves some of the pressure.

[Joy]

Writing is a life-saver for me.  Have you read Freud's essay, "Daydreaming and Creative Writing"?

[Brian Lee Carlson]

I actually started up writing up recently and I think it's been helpful. Kinda hard to really be productive with school starting up again. I'm not sure if it's any good though, I haven't had it critiqued or anything because I'm actually kind of embarrassed about the characters and setting. 

[Gwenevere]

No, I haven't read that.  Thanks, I'll look for it.

Joy said:

Writing is a life-saver for me.  Have you read Freud's essay, "Daydreaming and Creative Writing"?

[Emma Indigo]

I have tried writing them out before, and although I love to write fiction stories, I get easily frustrated while trying to translate the visual world in my head to just words. Trying to capture everything about my daydreams on paper is like...well, trying to spell using only numbers. What I do now that works for me is to keep two journals. One is where I live life in my MD world. I don't write it as a story, instead I write as if I am really in the world. What I did that day, letters to other characters, pictures, etc. The other journal (the less intriguing one) is the one I use to keep a hold on reality. I write about even the most boring of things. I don't even mention the daydreams in here because I feel that as long as I am living, at least simply just existing, there is hope that I-and all of us-can beat the daydreams.

[Alexis Taylor]

I have considered writing out my daydreams many times, but I always find it too taxing, because when I read back what I wrote, it just doesn't give me the same effect that actually daydreaming it does, so it's like it's not worth it. What I do write are short stories that are influenced by my daydreams. Not exactly about my DD but has includes somethings about them. 

[The1andonlyAbber]

I've also wrote journals from my main characters' point of view. I thought I was the only one who ever did that! Mind=blown. :-O

[cltreader]

I had never thought of writing a journal from my main character's POV.  I might give that a try as well.

[Kay M]

I want to write it into a story, but there is so much going on that I cant. I don't know where to start. My daydream world cant translate into words, as there is too much to write. So far, I have written a few short stories and have been keeping a diary from my main character's point of view for about a year and a half.

 My current project is that I have made up a series of questions to interview my characters with. Its like a documentary about a cult that the main character's cousins were raised in an escaped from, about how my character's aunt and uncle got into cults and went from an average childhood to having a whole bunch of kids, raising them in complete isolation in fear of the end of the world, then going even more crazy, letting the house go to chaos and started spending their whole time in their room praying while the kids were neglected, then used the older daughters to experiment on-the mother tried to use one teen girl (who my main character adopted) for a uterus transplant because her old one was getting worn out from having 14 kids back to back, and then when that didn't work, she gave the oldest daughter fertility drugs and then they got her pregnant with quintuplets so they could raise the babies as their own. In that part, I interview my main character's grandparents and one of her other aunts, and her uncle's mom and sister. Then I made questions to ask her grown children and their partners, who were also raised in the cult, about what it was like growing up like that and how they left, and also how it affected their lives and also how they raised their own children. I also interviewed my main character and the other aunt who adopted my character's kids brother.  I also interviewed a few cult members.

[Alex]

I've tried to do an autobiography on my alternate self numerous times. She's really interesting and detailed so I'd love to chronicle the daydreams, but I always just go back to my fictional novels. It's such an undertaking. First, my attention span is terrible so I pretty much can only finish novels during NaNoWriMo. Second, she's got at least 10 years of real-time experiences that I'd need to document. I remember most of it very clearly but heck, that would take up a lot of the time I spend daydreaming the here and now events. 
Now that I think about it, a journal of daydreams could be a work-around. I've had her try journaling in the past but just like my real-life attempts, I lose interest. That would help with that problem though as it's low doses of documenting the occurrences.

[Morganna Rebekah]

I started writing about my daydreams but I never found it any good, so it escalated into writing music and poetry about it, which I found alot better